A novel nanowire device that is able to non-invasively detect microscopic levels of cancer markers in the urine, has been developed by Japanese researchers and could aid in improving diagnosis and treatment of the deadly disease. The device was found with potential to efficiently capture extracellular vesicles (EVs) from urine and potentially use them to screen for cancer.

"The ongoing challenge for physicians in any field is to find a non-invasive diagnostic tool that allows them to monitor their patients on a regular basis -- for example, a simple urine test," said lead author Takao Yasui, from the Nagoya University in Japan. However, the content of EVs in urine is extremely low, at less than 0.01 per cent of the total fluid volume, which becomes a major barrier to their diagnostic utility. The new device -- embeded with zinc oxide nanowires into a specialised polymer -- was found highly efficient at capturing these vesicles.